


Anything Worth Holding On To

by littlebitlostandfound



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23768389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebitlostandfound/pseuds/littlebitlostandfound
Summary: Elizabeth meets an accident backstage.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Anything Worth Holding On To

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt: "Why are you so quiet?"

It all happened so fast.

Anne had brought Elizabeth to work with her that night to let her experience the show from the backstage. She let her join in during warm ups, much to the delight of social media, and had stayed near the prompter to watch her mother’s bit in the show before heading back upstairs to stay in the dressing room.

“Watch out for the cables!” The stage manager whisper-shouted, almost missing a cue when she lunged forward to try to catch the small child from tripping over. Elizabeth gasped as she fell forward, her hands and knees breaking her fall but her ankle still caught up mangled in the wire. A stage hand was quick to assist, helping the girl up to stand up but when she steps her left foot down, she almost buckles down again.

“Oh, careful there! Where does it hurt?” The stage hand asks, scooping Elizabeth up and bringing her back to the dressing room. The stage manager knew that Anne wouldn’t take this lightly, so she announced over the intercom for an emergency cover for the Holbein track until the end of the show.

Elizabeth peeks down once they had better light, and frowns when she sees that her knees were scuffed and her left ankle was purple and swollen. The stage hand quickly calls for a medic into the headset before turning it off, settling the child down on the first empty seat she sees.

“A medic’s going to come up to check you over, alright, love?” The stage hand reassures, propping up her foot with another chair. “I need to get back to my station, do you need me to get you anything?”

Elizabeth shakes her head, breathing through her nose. The medic quickly comes in with a packet of ice and the stagehand takes that as her cue to leave.

Meanwhile, the queens sans Anna have rushed into the wings to get ready to get their sunglasses and ruffs for the next scene. Anne feels a quick tap on her shoulder.

“A medic’s with your daughter in the dressing room, she hurt her ankle going back up.” The stage manager says quickly. “I’ve got an emergency cover already coming in, go see her.”

“What?!” Anne panics, letting the words settle in. “Okay, okay. Thanks!”

She rips her ruff away from her neck and removes the glasses before sprinting up the stairs and into the dressing room. She scans around and quickly finds her daughter whimpering and tightly clutching the armrests of the chair while the medic touches the ice to her ankle.

“Oh, darling,” Anne breathes, moving closer to assess the damage. Her left foot was propped up and the medic was trying his best to be as gentle as he could without causing any more stress.

“Mama,” Elizabeth sniffles, and she quickly reaches for her, wanting to be held. Anne quickly removes her skirt and was left in the sequined shorts before picking her daughter up and settling her on her lap. “I don’t like. It really hurts.”

“I know, darling, looks like you’ve had quite a fall,” Anne nods, pressing her lips against her temple. “I’m here to hold you, okay? He’s going to be wrapping your ankle and icing it after, then he’s going to clean the cuts on your knees. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Elizabeth nods, her arms wrapped around Anne’s shoulders and her face half hidden into her chest. Anne nods to the medic and the second he presses the bandage against the bruised skin, her daughter inhales sharply, her clutch tightening.

The bandage wraps around once, and when it tightens around her ankle, Elizabeth screams into Anne’s shoulder, trying to muffle her sobs. “I don’t want, Mama! Make it stop, please!”

Anne holds her head tight against her chest, keeping her lips at the crown of her head and one arm around her middle to keep her from thrashing.

“Almost done, we’re almost done,” Anne tries to soothe, but she starts to feel tears welling up in her eyes–she’s never seen her daughter in so much pain and she just wants so bad to take it all away. “Mama’s here, it’s okay, you’ll be okay.”

The medic finishes up wrapping her ankle, and Elizabeth’s cries slowly subside into whimpers. She doesn’t realize until after she’s calmed down that she’s been clawing at her mother as she tried to hold still, little nail marks and scratches littering her upper arm.

“M'sorry,” Elizabeth hiccups, tracing her finger along the red indents she’s made. “Didn’t mean to.”

“Nothing to worry about, darling.” Anne quickly quells her anxiety, stroking her hair and positioning her better in front of the medic. “He’s going to be cleaning your knees now, alright? It might sting a bit.”

Anne wraps her arms around her stomach as the medic swabs her knees over with antiseptic. He blows on them to dry and the sting settles in, her tears reappearing.

“Mama, it’s ouchie,” Elizabeth whimpers, her tiny hands grasping at the forearm around her waist. Anne couldn’t help but crack a small smile at her language–her daughter has tried her best to keep up with the adults around her, and it’s refreshing to hear her use words children in this day and age would use.

“I know it’s ouchie, baby. You’re being so brave right now,” Anne nuzzles her nose against the side of her head, wiping her tears away with her free hand.

“Great job, little miss!” The medic smiled patiently, raising his fist in front of Elizabeth for a fist bump. She touches her fist to his with a sniffle. “What colour would you like your plaster?”

Elizabeth points at the green coloured plaster, and he nods, pulling two out from his kit and placing one on each knee.

“There you go, all good,” He smiles, standing up from his position on the floor. “Her ankle’s most likely fractured, based on the swelling and bruising. Keep her off of it as much as possible, elevate it when she’s lying down, and make sure to ice it.”

“Got it, thank you so much,” Anne nods, making mental notes and already fixing her daily schedule in her head to work around caring for her daughter. The medic smiles politely again before gathering his things and leaving the dressing room, only for the rest of the queens to come in, ready to dress back into their street clothes and head home.

“Anne, what happened? We lost you in the middle of the sh–oh!” Aragon asks as she opens the door, trailing off when she sees the pair by the corner. “Go get dressed first, Anne. Can Auntie Lina hold you, mija?”

Without another word, Elizabeth holds her arms up to Aragon, who plucks her from her mother’s lap and she quickly changes out of her costume and wipes off her make up.

“You’ve had quite an adventure here backstage,” Aragon sways the both of them slightly, and Elizabeth rests her head against her chest. “Are you feeling any bit better?”

Elizabeth doesn’t answer, her thoughts were too loud and she doesn’t know how to properly process them. It wasn’t her fault that she tripped on the cables, and her mum let her watch by the wings and she didn’t want to stay for longer than she should’ve–

“Thanks, Catalina. I’m good now, I’d like to have my daughter back,” Anne smiles, completely dressed down, and Aragon passes her back into her arms.

“Why are you so quiet, hmm? What’s on your mind?” Anne asks, sitting back down on the chair and settling her on her lap. She drags a nearby chair closer to them and gingerly props her foot up.

“I tripped over the cables. I watched you sing then I wanted to go back up but it was too dark and I didn’t see–,” Elizabeth starts, playing with the strings of Anne’s hoodie. “You had to leave in the middle of the show, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Anne hugs her daughter tightly against her, and Elizabeth takes this moment to hide her face against her neck. “Please don’t think of that. You are the most important thing in my life, I’d drop anything to get to you.”

Anne feels wetness against her neck. She sucks in a breath.

“When they told me that you were hurt, I was…I was so scared, Elizabeth. I didn’t know what happened or how hurt you were, and I know you’re not familiar with anyone here in the theater and that must’ve been difficult for you.” Anne strokes her hair, allowing her child to cry it out. “I need you to know that whenever you need me, I will do my best to be there. I promise you that, okay? Can you remember that for me?”

“Okay,” Elizabeth manages through her tears. “Okay, Mama.”

“That’s my girl.”


End file.
